THREADS OF DESTINY

CHAPTER 79: DELIVERANCE AND DECEPTION

The church was far different from any Lanecea had ever attended, but that was because it was a deliverance ministry. The congregation didn't just pray - they screamed as they prayed certain it was more effective when standing against Satan and his host of demons. No one hugged in this church either, as demons could be transferred from one person to the other. The rules were stricter for Lanecea who wasn't allowed to shake anyone's hand either, nor was she allowed to speak with anyone of the opposite sex unless they were a deliverance minister. No one could be trusted, Richard often reminded her.

Lanecea had no reason to doubt him, after all, they were the reason she'd been in a car accident, but Lanecea's prayers were finally answered when she met CJ, a young mixed-race boy who gravitated toward her. CJ wasn't Lanecea's biological son, but that boy was exactly what she needed as Mom pushed him off her lap, refusing to cuddle him. Lanecea noticed the other women at church treat him the same way, pushing the pale-skinned boy away, but Lanecea, desperate for a child, held out her arms to him and CJ made a bee-line dive for the woman who needed someone to love. The two became inseparable when he attended church with his father, but his dad was also extremely kind to Lanecea, handing her money after every service before she needed to run upstairs to assist their pastor. 

"Thank you - I don't need your money though."

"I insist," he closed his hand over the wad of cash he'd given her, smiling before he stepped out of the church after CJ  embraced her.

"God has heard my prayers," Lanecea shared her heart with Richard after apologizing for forgetting she wasn't allowed to speak with other men, "That boy is like my prayed-for son."

"Be careful you don't grow too attached to him, Lani. There is a transference that can happen and God will not give you your own biological children. CJ is only attached to you because you look just like his mother."

It made Lanecea sad, but she kept her thoughts to herself as she passed Richard the money.

"Why are people at church giving you money?"

Lanecea shrugged - she didn't know. 

"Well, it's perfect timing," Richard broke the silence as he counted the money she'd given him. "Two hundred dollars - the exact amount I needed to pay a bill."

CJ's father wasn't the only one who had started to give her money since she'd made it to church in that blistering snowstorm, but he gave Lanecea the most.

Lanecea knew Richard didn't hear the beginning portion of the service even though it was broadcasted on the speakers in the hallway upstairs, the man praying over people before the service began and then counselling them long into the night after the service.

"You know what?" Lani swung her long legs as she perched on his desk, "There was a woman who gave her testimony this morning and she was saying that her husband in Africa has a second wife and that woman just had a baby. She prayed the prayer points and that woman died this week. How sad! Now the baby will have no one, but isn't that also the perfect crime? She literally murdered her sister-wife with her prayers and there is no way they will ever find evidence."

Lanecea was lost in thought for a moment before turning her attention back to Richard who looked troubled, "Do you believe in polygamy? I mean, do you think it's a sin? I still can't believe how fast the prayers worked for her. She killed her sister-wife just like that," Lani snapped her fingers.

"Polygamy is very common in Africa and the church, as a denomination, is divided on the issue. Polygamy can work but sometimes it destroys the man's destiny."

"What do you believe?"

"Come Lani, you need to get home. I'll clear my schedule and take you out tomorrow. Would you like that?"